I started karate in Romania when I was 9 years old. I can still remember my Sensei, Vasile Popa, teaching us spinning techniques after he attended a seminar with Hitoshi Kasuya Sensei. I had the privilege to learn all aspects of karate through perseverance and hard work. I stopped when I was 18 when I started university and had a few attempts to come back, but I didn’t last long.

In 2011, I moved to the UK and tried to join a couple of local clubs before I found Tomiko Mitsuoka Sensei’s dojo in February 2018. I knew from the first lesson that this was what I was looking for from karate. The connection with traditional Japanese teaching was back, but most importantly, the passion for karate.